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The kitchen has become the hub of the home. We cook there, eat there, watch TV there and often socialise there too. Sometimes we also spend more money kitting out our kitchens than any other room in the house. Michelle Robertson profiles six entrepreneurs who have tapped into this growing market and launched a range of beautiful, durable and eco-friendly products for our favourite room in the house

t he growing number of reports about global warming and the deteriorating state of the Earth and our environment is alarming. What is worse is that most

of us have got so used to being bombarded with bad news that it seems to have become all too easy to mentally just switch off. These days the average person is so busy surviving that he rarely has time to catch his own thoughts, let alone ponder how his actions are effecting the environment. So, what’s the solution?

According to Anu Agarwal, CEO of The Green Ecostore, eco-friendly shopping is a great solution. It is the perfect way to do your part to help the environment because you are living the same quality life but are just replacing the products you use with sustainable alternatives.

On their part, social entrepreneurs are making a significant difference by coming up with innovative solutions to some of the most high-pressure social problems. Through their eco-friendly products, they are striving to make an incredible difference in the world, provided we, the consumers, buy and use their innovative products or services in our day-to-day lives.

As the founder of an online green store, Anu is not just an advocate of eco-friendly shopping but also a promoter of the green lifestyle and an eco-friendly way of living and being.

“Unfortunately, whilst the ‘green movement’ is growing, not everyone is aware of how the industry for eco-friendly home products has changed over the years. The quality has improved a lot, suppliers have added new products to their line and products are generally more sophisticated in design and better priced,” says Anu.

These days, eco-friendly products can be found in an increasing number of stores, with many even offering free delivery, making it easier than ever to switch to green. “As these products are made to a very high quality, consumers need not compromise on quality or standards. The eco-friendly products are as beautiful and well designed as non-eco products,” says Anu. “When we talk to potential customers about buying eco-friendly products pricing sometimes holds people back, but overall people’s mindsets are changing as they realise the benefits of buying something sustainable.”

warriors in the kitchen

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go green

Lamis Bin Harib Founder and CEO of BioD Disposables

Lamis Bin Harib is an inspirational woman from the UAE who specialises in the design and supply of biodegradeable disposable items for the kitchen. With a background in green design from the Pratt Institute in New York, Lamis has combined her talent

as a designer with her passion for protecting the environment by starting BioD, a local company that designs and distributes compostable plates, cups, cutlery, straws and sandwich zipbags.

Compared to your average plastic throwaway plates and cups, BioD’s disposables are made from renewable sources so instead of ending up in landfill sites they completely biodegrade.

As plastic particles on the surface of our oceans now outnumber marine life, consumers can make a significant difference by buying compostable disposables instead of conventional ones.

“If consumers start using biodegradable and compostable alternatives, it could go a long way in helping to reduce the plastic pollution in the world,” says Lamis.

Her single-use compostable and disposable products can be bought online through the BioD website or at the Change Initiative in Dubai. Once used, the plates and cups can be discarded as usual or thrown into a composter where they will biodegrade over time. www.biod-ae.com

Jacqueline LinderFounder and CEO of Lunchbots

Jacquline Linder is not your average mom from California. In 2008, she saw a gap in the market for non-plastic food containers, followed her instinct and ended up with a brand of beautiful eco-friendly stainless steel lunchboxes that are now sold worldwide.

“I started Lunchbots from my garage in 2008

as I was very concerned about the chemicals in plastic reaching into food and was struggling to find an alternative to plastic containers when I was packing my kids’ lunches,” says Jacqueline.

The company’s motto is simple: ‘Healthy foods need healthy containers’. Lunchbots sells a range of stainless steel containers and lunchboxes with BPA-free plastic lids, in numerous sizes and eye-catching colours.

Whether they are used for storing dried food, snacks or soup, buying stainless steel containers is an eco-friendly alternative for keeping the food fresh and healthy, and also a great way to educate children about the importance of using products that are sustainable.

Lunchbots is available at Db Babies (which has boutiques in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Muscat as well as an online store) or can be ordered online at www.lunchbots.com

The six innovative eco-entrepreneurs whose products aim to help you with the greening of your home, particularly the kitchen:

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Naomi broke new ground with Native Trails’ iconic copper sinks,

and helped to introduce copper as a mainstay material for the

kitchen and bath

Narayana Peesapati Founder and Managing Director, Bakey’s Food Private Limited

Narayana Peesapati was a researcher at the International Crop Research Institute for Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in Hyderabad, India. When Narayana became aware of the effects of plastic on our environment and our health, he

made it a point to find an alternative. While on a plane, he watched a fellow passenger using Gujarati khakra (a snack) as a spoon and from here the story of his edible cutlery brand began.

Narayana developed prototype machines and moulds and now makes edible cutlery – spoons and chopsticks. The cutlery is made from a mix of jowar (sorghum), rice and wheat flour. It starts to soften after approximately 15 minutes, which makes it easier to eat at the end of the meal. Even if you choose to throw it out, the cutlery will decompose in less than a week.

Bakey’s edible cutlery has reached markets in the US and UK, with orders pouring in for this brilliant invention. The company is based in Hyderabad and the manufacturing unit is an all-women enterprise, headed by Narayana’s wife. To know more, go to www.bakeys.com

Naomi Neilson Howard Founder of Native TrailsNaomi Neilson Howard has always had a fascination with the environment, often dreaming about what she might be able to do one day to impact the health of the planet. In 1996 she started Native

Trails out of the spare closet in her home in California. Over time her business expanded, taking over her home, her back shed and eventually becoming a fully-fledged company with over 1,300 showrooms around the world.

Native Trails makes innovative bathroom and kitchen fixtures from sustainable materials. It works with artisans around the world to handcraft products from natural, sustainable materials such as recycled copper and reclaimed wood.

“We use natural materials that tend to have an earthy, textural aesthetic – and we love to combine that with contemporary design to create a real visual oomph,” says Naomi. Her company continues to innovate every year adding new products, such as the copper sink line. “Our copper sinks are extremely durable and will likely to last longer than many homes themselves,” she adds.

Native Trails products can be shipped worldwide. www.nativetrails.net

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Peter Strugatz & Miranda Magagnini Co-founders of IceStone

Peter Strugatz and Miranda Magagnini are two extraordinary individuals from Brooklyn, New York, who joined forces in 2003 to create IceStone, a company that transforms waste into

beautiful sustainable surfaces for the home. The company makes slabs for kitchen countertop applications from 100% recycled glass embedded in cement matrix, filling a gap in the interior design industry for beautiful sustainably made surfaces, which do not contain any harmful chemicals.

Their Brooklyn-based factory is daylit with skylights, reducing energy consumption and currently recycles over 90% of its waste. In just 12 years, the business has made a significant environmental impact by redirect-ing over 13 million pounds of waste glass from landfills.

“IceStone is made of three core ingredients: 100% recycled glass, non-toxic pigments and Portland cement. It is free of resins and therefore will not emit any carcinogenic fumes or other endocrine disrupt-ers in homes or offices,” says Peter Strugatz.

“Originally our idea was to incorporate waste glass into the design for structural concrete used in building construc-tion. However, it became apparent that with the variety of colours of waste glass available, the endless possibili-ties of combinations with pigments, and the fact that the cement matrix was free of any harmful chemicals, we could create some truly unique sustainable surfaces for the home,” adds Miranda Magagnini. www.icestoneusa.com

Dr. Teruo Higa Founder of EM Technology & Bokashi Compost

Dr. Teruo Higa is the founder of EM Technol-ogy and a professor from the University of Ryukyus in Japan. He specialises in agricul-tural research and made history in the 1980s when he developed the concept of EM Technology. “Effec-tive Microorganisms

[EM] ferment in an anaerobic condition, so I thought if I used EM, Bokashi [which means ‘fermented organic matter’ in Japanese] could be made in a sealed condi-tion. I tried and it worked. I was lucky,” says Dr. Higa.

His discovery led to the creation of Bokashi com-posting. As it uses microbes instead of worms to decompose food, it is a safe, quick and convenient way to compost. The EM is mixed with a carbon base, such as sawdust or bran, which it sticks to and with a sugar for food, e.g. molasses, this mixture is layered with waste in a sealed container and after a few weeks, removed and buried.

With most people living in urban areas producing tons of kitchen waste every year, Bokashi composting is an effective way to reduce the amount of rubbish being sent to landfills. The Bokashi method is very fast, with the compost usually ready to be inte-grated into the soil or garden in around two weeks. All you need to get started is a Bokashi Bucket and the Bokashi Bran, which can be bought online.

“Using compost treated with EM in agriculture will prevent soil erosion and enhance plant growth. At the same time, this prevention of soil runoff will support the protection of groundwater,” adds Dr. Higa.

To know more, go to www.rashedagri.com.sa. The Rashed Establishment for Trading and Agriculture are the Middle East distributors for Bokashi.

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